Open PTR feedback

[Zdolik]

I also run into the empty card stuff. On game start I have some perfomance issues when the coin flip happens. Also you need to look at the Arachas Queen, weather interaction. When the weather (rain) destroyed my units on the row I got 2 arachas. It should'nt work like that.

 

[Speykk]

Hello CDPR,

First of all I'd like to express how much I appreciate your hard work over the months. I can clearly see the dedication behind the HC and the result.

I'd like to start with the things I like:
-Visuals and 3d leaders
-A lot of infamous cards reworks
-Client and Menu looks
-Premiums of new cards are as amazing as ever.

Now about things I didn't like:
-Sound effects and gravity of cards feel inferior. In old Gwent whenever a gold is played it makes a clink and sword draw sound to signify it's importanty, in HC there is no such things.
-Sound effects in general are not encountered often which makes the game feel like quiet before the storm.
-The game feels very slow due to new "End Turn" button, given it was never a thing in Gwent it feels weird. It should auto press itself if I at least run out of things to do(played a leader before, all orders are prompted, a card is played).
-The adjustment of numbers feels so awkward after being used to every card having an 11 point value on average, Idk what was the decision in tuning everything down but it feels too drastic after a year of beta.

Onto game mechanics:
-Coin flip is still an issue because of new Order mechanic. With it you'd prefer to play first so that you can be prepared
-Tactical advantage card is a bit OP, with some cards having only 2-4 points of value without immideate effects it can affect the game too much.
-I don't understand why some cards got their effects changed while their old went to others. Especially leaders swap
-Some leaders abilities have too many charges. Like Eithne or Demavend.
-Speaking of numbers, some cards are extremely high powered for the HC. Any card with 9 or more power is pretty much a CA because it's hard to out play it without proper setups or early in the game. Even though there are cards meant to destroy 10 or more powered ones, they are not used due to rarely being able to be used.
-The provisions mechanic is a bit hard to use, it's a more complicated way of limiting golds.

Game wins and issues:
-Artifacts are not that hard to destroy since there are cards dedicated to it. Not even factions specific wise but neutral as well.
-Order mechanic is actually fun it's just too easy to counter since cards with it are usually low powered(3-4 sometimes 5 power)
-Zeal is something you wanna have more often
-Some leaders look silly, like usurper who is just all alone there with a blooded dagger, or unseen elder who barely moves. As well as Eithne who looks like a hag and not an Dryad ruler. I don't remember her weilding a bow in books and whatnot.
-Some old mechanics are just gone or changed into boring versions of themselves, like Reveal(which became way too RNG) and Spying(which no longer is an archetype or is interesting), as well as ambush(doesn't have enough value).
-Some cards should be better adjusted to provisions values.
-The game feels a lot like hearthstone now. A lot of card mechanics and effects resemble it, which I don't like at all. Reveal is basically Joust from Heartstone as well as a lot of cards having same effects as some of their counterparts from HS. I'm sure people loved the uniqness Gwent had compared to other card games. HC seems to get rid of that in a lot of ways.
-Permanent effect icons(lock, doomed, resilient, immune etc) feel too small. Unless you keep track of them you don't know which is which and they're tiny.
-2 Rows were supposed to give diversity but instead it limits the play. Some cards can't even be triggered if not placed on right row.
-2 bronze total makes no sense. Especially with cards that have effects like "per each copy of this in graveyard/in play/in hand) etc. It also forces archetypes to merge due to insufficient number of cards because of this limit.
-Cards feel far less dynamic. They're placed slow, drawn slow. Discard and banish became faster.
-On a personal note, I was really sad to see Hemdall gone, can you please bring him back? Even if it wouldn't be the same effect. Like maybe a 5-6 point card that'd remove negative effects or whatever.

Bugs:
-Some cards bug out with their sound effects and become super loud
-I don't know if mulligans should be every round or once per game with the numbers given to leader. If not once per game then it often doesn't work
-Some tootips are missing
-Some cards work too many times. I had a guy abuse Cadaverine because it didn't destroy itself, he used it 4 times.

I hope this helps. I love what you guys make and I was a bit dissapointed with how the PTR feels so far. Hope you can fix it. The game felt really great when show on Thronebreaker but HC itself? for some reason doesn't.

 

[Thunderscape]

Hello, thanks for let us trying the ptr

Cant play the game though.
Stays forever searching for a player. Then when i try to leave matchmaking it also takes forever and i have to alt-f4.

Card art and deck building works fine.
Normal Gwent works fine.

Re-installing now. Staring as admin and repair the game through gog didint do anything.

Update: Re-install didnt work.

New update: Tryed again. It worked. Did a game with SK.

Like the visuals alot, but dislike my hand beign hidden/small.
Need more games before can say something abouth gameplay mechanics, gonna think some fun decks.

 

[dedekpo]

The game was working ok, but sudently stop working on matchmaking, it simply don't find anyone and if I click on "back" nothing happens, and I need to close the game.

 

[NidhoeggrOmba]

I have a bug that i cannot find games. I am constantly stuck in searching queue. Have to quit the game via task manager, because i cannot leave queue and the game otherwise.

 

[Sariel_]

Sometimes when I draw cards before second round they don't appear in my hand but in my graveyard which means I'm immediately several cards down. Anyone else experienced this?

 

[Ethree]

Hello, i have problem with start PTR Gwent
i played in this game, but when i created new deck and I have a infinite loading, i tried swap an account in the gog and play with another an account, so i was able easy find game, when was at "search games" in the game... i dunno that this for problem....

http://prntscr.com/l2pd4n

 

[kotpeter]

First of all, the visual aspect is great, albeit the rightmost sidebar with scores and "end turn" button is bad UX and should be reworked. I mean, I have to scroll my mouse to the very right of the screen, far from the battlefield, from my leader and from my hand, to end my turn, and it kinda sucks.

The provisions's system is great as it adds flexibility to the deckbuilding and allows more potential card combos. However, you do not expect to see those combinations every game because there're no reliable ways to draw them. I mean, if people found those OP 20+ value combos, they would use Royal Decree for sure, but for those mediocre thematic synergies available through your bronze core there are no reliable tutors. So you end up creating your deck with a bunch of synergistic bronze pairs/triples and you hope to draw them and your most powerful golds.

Also, Dandelion: Poet seems to be auto-include in 95% of the decks, because it allows you to gain 4 more power from your deck than you would do otherwise (you cannot draw all your deck, and chances that the card you drew is stronger than 4 + another card from your deck are low). Roach seems pretty powerful too and might become auto-include because it negated the value of blue coin artifact, and due to increased number of mulligans and golds we have.

Also, a personal complaint: the game no longer represents chess and puzzle-solving, because the card combinations are simpler and less consistent, and there's no identity in the deck as a whole. Theorycrafting is indeed harder now, but the result is less fascinating from a mathematician's standpoint. Neither it's spectacular from viewer perspective because the best decks that I had met during matchmaking were not thematic; they were a bunch of different strong units of different tribes, and they didn't look thematically good together.

Overall, I suggest you leave both Gwent versions online for a couple of weeks (perhaps rename the current Gwent to "Gwent: Open Beta edition (deprecated)") after release and see where the current playerbase goes.

 

[Amorella_Moon]

So when playing any of the decks, Im not having the card effects actually appear on the board on my side, nor is damage actually applied to my opponents side of the board about 50% of the time.

Also, as someone who has some vision issues, the new board is incredibly hard to see... I spent my first few rounds just trying to figure out where everything was now located.

Will the old Beta be available to play after the update? Cause I am NOT digging this new one at all, and will likely have to stop playing due to the graphics :/

 

[Fimbulthrym]

Overall, I suggest you leave both Gwent versions online for a couple of weeks (perhaps rename the current Gwent to "Gwent: Open Beta edition (deprecated)") after release and see where the current playerbase goes.

While prefer this solution (but would not participate at any of it) no company would risk this scenario. You are going to not only devide the playerbae and lose even more about it but risk to fail completly. What if the majority keeps playing the beta-version? Dumb the 6 month-worked-on Homecoming incl. Thronebreaker? On the other side, if the majority changes to HC, why support Beta-version anyway? Face the reality: Either you like HC enough to play it or not and leave. There wont be any other possibilities.

 

[Hamood-Shinobi]

First of all, Thank you for your hard work guys.

Feedback:
- The game is slow due to the "End turn" thing.
- 10 Cards limit and drawing 3 makes round 1 useless, since you can play three bad cards and keep your good cards, dry pass round 2 and go to round 3 with 10 cards, which is insane!
- Two copies of each bronze unit will make decks without identity, and the deck building process will be messy, I think the 3 copies of each bronze is the way to go. I was struggling to build a deck and started throwing cards for the sake of completing the 25 cards limit.
- The abilities of A LOT of cards are very similar, Boost by x, damage by x, destroy a x type of card, I'm not saying these abilities are bad, it's just that there are many card with the same abilities.
- Order units need a bigger base power, they easily destroyed before triggering their ability.
- Cards with 9 or more base power are basically CA, nerf them.
- I can barley see my cards when it's my opponents turn.

You can delay HC IDC, but please look more into it before releasing the full game.

 

[Maerd]

The Open PTR is unplayable. I managed to play only 5 incomplete games, after which the game hanged in the turn change forever. And now I'm getting stuck in searching for worthy opponents forever without being able to find anyone ever.

Other bugs: the Dandelion card supposed to be boosted when a unit gains a charge, but he does not boost (i.e. playing Demavend deck play Dandelion first, then play some unit with charges and add a charge using a leader ability, no boost).

 

[Mechanic_RCR]

Thank you for inviting us for the PTR.
The chance to play the game, even in its unfinished form, is very much appreciated.

Regarding what I played so far... The graphics look amazing, but the gameplay is boring.
Starting with the cards….too much was changed, horribly so.

And its the small things… why were card abilities transferred to other cards for, I see no apparent reason, because the abilities are there?? Calveit has Emhyr's ability and Movran Trish is a Calveit's? Many cards have identical abilities, that is, boosts…. This just looks like total lack of ideas of what to do.
The fact that Silvers are gone can be overlooked, but weather is gone, most archetypes are gone, the cool abilities many cards had were removed or changed, synergies are really hard to find, and instead of a card collection of diverse cards with fun abilities, its a bloody mess of boosts.

About the gameplay itself, well, I had to go drink a coffee after my first 2 games.
The graphics look great and all … but pretty does not interesting make… It is boring.
Having to end turn every time is annoying, the layout is confusing, and it just doesn't have the same Gwenty feeling of fun.

Heck I got a library full of graphically excellent games on Steam, Uplay and GoG to play, but Gwent has always been my first option, and as a player of over 1000 hours of Gwent behind me, that is more than I have played any other game, and I do not have thadt much free time on my hands for gaming anymore… and it was not for the graphics, but for the enjoyment of playing a good game of cards.

After playing a couple of round on this PTR, I am left heartbroken and in mourning… and wondering which of my games I will start playing next.

I'm sorry guys and gals, I might play some more PTR games this weekend, but I can say it already, this is Homecoming is not my cup of tea. I would rather spend my time enjoying Gwent while it lasts.

 

[Ethree]

Hello, i have problem with start PTR Gwent
i played in this game, but when i created new deck and I have a infinite loading, i tried swap an account in the gog and play with another an account, so i was able easy find game, when was at "search games" in the game... i dunno that this for problem....

http://prntscr.com/l2pd4n

 

[shepherdmoon]

I've had a chance to make one deck (consume/deathwish) and try it out in a friendly game. So far I feel a bit overwhelmed, but I'm sure a tutorial and access to practice mode would fix that. It's hard to learn the new mechanics when you have to rush to avoid the rope. Some quick thoughts/impressions from someone trying to dive in with no tutorial:

* It's really easy to forget to pass. When there are no more possible actions left perhaps it should pass automatically.

* I made the mistake of triggering my tactical advantage during my last turn for the round, and thinking that could be my only action. Then I sat there frantically trying to figure out why I couldn't pass, until finally the rope ran out and I randomly discarded a card. Turns out, it seems, that I am required to play a card if I use the artifact. Maybe a tutorial would have made that apparent, but it wasn't intuitively obvious.

* When taunting, the Arachas Queen leader sounds like a male elf using the Elder Speech. Although funny, I don't think this is intended .

* ETA: I played another game and for the second time I got all upset Weavress: Incantation wasn't working, and for the second time realized it's because she's useless when put in the ranged row. A more obvious icon or something for units that have zero ability when placed in one of the rows, and an awesome-sauce ability when placed in the other one would be nice. Maybe an arrow/sword next to the text to catch your attention. Plain words get over-looked.

That's all I noticed during my one game so far. The graphics are beautiful and I think there is a lot of potential. I'm excited for the future. Thanks for your efforts, and for giving us a chance to give you feedback!

 

[ARDRU]

It would be great to return the old card sorting system to the collection by their strength, or add the ability to choose a sorting method. Not everyone will remember the cards at their cost - most remember the cards by their basic strength. That is why the new sorting system seems to me ineffective and intuitive.

 

[Amorella_Moon]

So, I have 80 hours playing the beta in the last month, and even bought a few kegs for kicks because I really enjoyed the game... the more I play the PTR, the more I kinda hate it.

Fiddled with the graphics, but still can't see the board enough to actually make the game playable. Spent more time squinting away at the cards than actually playing the game. Also, as someone who really enjoyed the art on the cards, Im sad to see the cards looking so generic and tiny. This game now looks like an off-brand android game... I get wanting to make it look more *gritty*, but the theme you actually nailed was "Generic".

Is there any way to get a refund on those kegs I bought? If this is gonna be what the Alpha looks and plays like, I will just delete it off GOG, and not bother investing any more time in it.

SO GLAD I did not preorder TB... what a mess.

 

[Blinded_Sun]

I seem to be running into issues with matchmaking. When I try to play a game, I get stuck in the "Searching for a worthy rival" screen, and then when I attempt to cancel matchmaking, I get put into the "attempting to leave matchmaking" indefinitely and am forced to close the game.

I have same problem

 

[2Manyfaces]

My game crushes everytime when I'm trying to play a deck with Nilfgaardian leader((.

 

[Amorella_Moon]

ALSO OF NOTE: Why even bother having factions in this update? Each deck is generic with no real identity anymore. Which makes me sad, as someone who really invested in the Elf and Dwarf deck, and enjoyed having to shift my gameplay style depending on what faction my opponent was playing.
Now factions are just a watered down mess :/